Photographers Kicked Out Of ICC

One of the biggest draws to conventions for cosplayers is the allure of getting great photos of their work done by some of the amazing photographers who show up to those events. Cosplayers work tirelessly on their craft, and photographers love to capture that passion.

Unfortunately, the International Convention Centre Sydney and the local rangers have decided that photographers don’t have the right to shoot at their venue and as a result, photographers have been moved on today.

Apoapsis Photography posted On Facebook this morning during the convention:

Needless to say, the ICC has shot itself in the foot here, big time. As Matt from Apoapsis Photography points out, with many of the big Sydney conventions like Oz Comic Con recently making the move to the International Convention Centre, this sort of thing can very easily kill sales to those conventions. Photographers are very likely not going to bother attending conventions to take photos for free when there is a threat of being fined for it (I know I won’t), and that will very quickly kill off the desire for many of the big time cosplayers to bother attending – especially when so many cosplayers and photographers are a part of the same friendship circles. I can tell you from my experiences at many cons over the past 6-7 years, including Oz Comic Con at the ICC at the end of last year, that a very strong majority of the attendees to these conventions are cosplayers and photographers.

RTX failing to reach an agreement with the venue on this issue also speaks volumes to the attitude that the venue and its staff hold for convention attendees.

If we hear any more on this issue, we’ll be sure to keep you all up to date.

I understand the readon why the rules are in place – it’s to cover photographers who get accreditation of concerts and performances. When you read the way the ICC has written their rules they have clearly overstepped the boundaries of their own definition. RTX, ComicCon & Supernova (and other similar events) are “Conventions/Trade Shows” NOT Theatre, Concert or Entertainment events. There is no one who is financially disadvantaged by people coming in and doing photography. They need to understand the events being run at tgeir venue or risk losing revenue as promoters fail to rebook after seeing a decline in patrons.

hey, just want to let you know it wasn’t as bad as you think.
and that the majority of other professionals were not even asked to leave,
and as ignorant as it sounds the security is a bunch of dumb police wannabes who were scared of a crowd and flashing cameras.